Arguments In Favor Of Ketogenic Diets

AbstractMany negative comments have been made about the use of ketogenic diets (KDs) and experts todaybelieve that the best way to lose weight is by cutting back on calories, chiefly in the form of fat. Theinternational consensus is that carbohydrates are the basis of the food pyramid for a healthy diet.However, this review will clarify that low-carbohydrate diets are, from a practical and physiological pointof view, a much more effective way of losing weight. It is also argued that such diets provide metabolicadvantages, for example: they help to preserve muscle mass, reduce appetite, diminish metabolicefficiency, induce metabolic activation of thermogenesis and favor increased fat loss and even a greaterreduction in calories. These diets are also healthier because they promote a non-atherogenic lipid profile,lower blood pressure and decrease resistance to insulin with an improvement in blood levels of glucoseand insulin. Low-carbohydrate diets should therefore be used to prevent and treat type II diabetes andcardiovascular problems. Such diets also have neurological and antineoplastic benefits and diet-inducedketosis is not associated with metabolic acidosis, nor do such diets alter kidney, liver or heart functions.